Rest and recovery for new moms

The first cry of a newborn often marks the arrival of life. While it brings joy and the baby is showered with care and attention, recovery of mothers is often sidelined. Childbirth leaves behind a trail of physical strain, hormonal imbalances, and emotional hardships. According to health experts, a majority of Indian mothers experience postpartum depression. Globally, however, postpartum care has evolved into an essential service. In countries like South Korea, Japan, and France, specialised in-house care centres offer new mothers a complete package therapeutic massages, nutritional guidance, and emotional support ensuring they recover both physically and mentally. In India, this trend is slowly catching up. In South Korea, sanhujoriwon (postpartum care centres) are a cultural norm, with new mothers spending 21 to 30 days in recovery-oriented environments where healing and baby care are equally prioritised. This model resonates with urban India, where the traditional wisdom once passed down through joint families is increasingly absent in nuclear households. This trend has been popular in countries like Singapore and Thailand, says Haritha P, founder of Paavai by Haritha, a holistic birth coach and prenatal fitness trainer. She adds, These centres bring all the experts you need under one roof when parents are learning newborn care, with a focus on breastfeeding, physical healing, and nutrition. According to her, earlier generations learnt childcare by watching elders. Today, however, parenting advice often feels outdated to young couples. Current parenting practices feel like Latin and Greek to grandparents who raised three or four children in a very different time. These centres offer culturally rooted practices and evidence-based guidance, she notes. She also highlights how Kerala is leading this shift. Kerala, where Ayurvedic massages, diets, and belly binding are mainstream, shows higher awareness and acceptance. The growth in care While Kerala is growing into a hub for postpartum care, affordability and access still remain a challenge. The financial barrier is real. These centres cater largely to upper-middle class and elite audience. If theres no centre in your area, theres planning and travel stress. At home, you have multiple family members to lean on; at a centre, youre often limited to one or two companions. So their role can be restricted, Haritha explains. She notes that availing these postpartum care services within the first 45 days, benefits the most. Home-based care services are also redefining the landscape. My Womb Maternity Care, a Kerala-based service provider, sends trained caregivers directly to clients homes, blending traditional and modern care. Our concept is to take care of the mother, physically and emotionally. Most mothers go through a lot of trauma during and after pregnancy due to hormonal change. We focus on their recovery, says Sijith Ayath Mohammed, CEO of My Womb Maternity Care. The service follows a three-step routine: full-body massages to ease muscle strain, kizhi (a heat massage therapy for back and shoulder pain), and vethu kuli (medicinal baths) made from nalpamara barks (bark of a group of four trees used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine). The massage helps unwind stress pockets that develop during pregnancy and delivery, preventing them from leading to postpartum depression, Sijith claims. We aim to help mothers recoup and rejuvenate after childbirth. Proper postpartum care cannot promise 100% results, but it can bring up to 85% recovery and help mothers regain strength and confidence. My Womb Maternity Care recommends a 28-day package for optimal results, priced at around `33,000 for daily services and `40,000 for live-in care. Ayurveda also plays a strong role in postpartum care across India. Kairali Ayurvedic Group, a 116-year-old institution, recently launched a postpartum wellness programme at its Kairali Healing Village in Palakkad, Kerala, which offers a stay-based care service. Were an NABH-certified Ayurvedic hospital, and we use only Ayurvedic treatments and medicines, supervised by certified BAMS and MD doctors, nurses, dieticians, and yoga teachers. Even our chefs are trained in Ayurvedic cooking. We launched our postpartum programme because of a personal experience. My wife had a tough postpartum and we realised the need is widespread and under-addressed, says Abhilash K Ramesh, director of Kairali Ayurvedic Group. Their approach is comprehensive; doctor consultations, two daily therapies, yoga, meditation, and personalised Ayurvedic meals, with in-patient treatment packages starting from Rs 13,915 (excluding accommodation and food) and out-patient treatment packages costing Rs 40,000 for seven days. We dont mix modern medicine into our protocol. Most postpartum clients already know they need help, Abhilash says. He emphasises that postpartum care is not a foreign trend but rather a modernised version of traditional Indian practices. India has always had postpartum traditions. If a need exists, and a service can genuinely help, why shouldnt it exist? Hybrid approach Other wellness hubs are taking a hybrid approach. In Chennai, Mamma Care Pro offers a mix of traditional therapies and modern physiotherapy, to help mothers regain strength, posture, and emotional balance. Its founder Nasimah Israth says, Postpartum care is a huge process because a womans body undergoes tremendous internal, external, emotional, and mental changes during the nine months of pregnancy. The first 42 days after childbirth are crucial for recovery, this is when the uterus shrinks back to its original size. Her centres services range from Siddha therapy, portable steam treatments, and herbal baths to posture correction and belly binding. These first six weeks can determine the quality of a womans health for the next 40 years. We also address common issues like constipation, bloating, sleep deprivation, and body pain. When someone is taken care with soft touch, they feel nurtured, reducing postpartum blues and depression, she explains. Packages span 42 days with prices varying on the treatment, and cost for a single session, without a package, ranges from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000. Across these models Ayurvedic retreats, home-based services, and hybrid wellness centres the benefits are consistent: faster healing, improved lactation, better posture and mobility, and a reduced risk of postpartum depression. Emotional well-being is also a key focus by integrating counselling, mindfulness, and yoga into the care. The awareness shift is evident across metro cities and beyond. When we started, awareness in Chennai was low. Most families believed that only the baby, not the mother, needed care. Some older relatives even criticised mothers for taking time to rest and recover. But now, with workshops, counselling sessions, and referrals, people are realising postpartum care is not a luxury but a necessity, Nasimah says. Sijith agrees, noting that modern working mothers, particularly in IT and corporate sectors, are actively seeking structured recovery options to balance health and career. As India continues to urbanise, the demand for postpartum care is expected to grow. In metro cities, I expect growth because many families moving to the urban areas for jobs dont always have elders around to guide them and fill the cultural gap. Thats where centres offering expert-led, evidence-based, yet culturally rooted postpartum care will thrive, Haritha observes. In the next five years, every brand will shape its own journey guided by its identity, audience, the treatment philosophy it chooses whether rooted in Ayurveda, inspired by Korean methods, or drawn from entirely new approaches, says Abhilash. Ultimately, these services are doing more than filling a healthcare gap; they are reframing motherhood. By centering the mothers physical and emotional health, India is beginning to acknowledge that a healed mother is just as important as a healthy baby.